Northeast Ithaca is calmer than 85% of U.S. communities
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Northeast Ithaca comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 1981.
What stands out about Northeast Ithaca’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
How exposed is Northeast Ithaca?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 15% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Calmer than 1,226 of the 1,524 New York towns we cover.
Northeast Ithaca covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
What Northeast Ithaca faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Tornadoes
Does Northeast Ithaca flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Northeast Ithaca, from FEMA’s records.
Northeast Ithaca isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Tompkins County.Federal disasters declared here
None of the disasters declared for Tompkins County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Northeast Ithaca itself in FEMA’s records.
Tompkins County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Get ready for what Northeast Ithaca actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Northeast Ithaca and its neighbors
Northeast Ithaca ranks 2nd calmest of 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dryden | High | inland flooding | 9 |
| Ithaca | Moderate | inland flooding | 14 |
| Cayuga Heights | Low | inland flooding | 3 |
| Lansing | Low | inland flooding | 1 |
| Northeast Ithaca | Very low | inland flooding | 10 |
| Lansing | Very low | inland flooding | 45 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in May–July
The month each of Tompkins County’s 16 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
- Compared by rate. “Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Northeast Ithaca’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Northeast Ithaca.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Northeast Ithaca, expected losses total about $613K a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Northeast Ithaca.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.